Ron MacLean back as 'Hockey Night in Canada' host, George Stroumboulopoulos to leave show

By Popjournalism StaffPosted on June 27, 2016

Ron MacLean is officially back as host of Rogers’ Hockey Night in Canada broadcast.

Outgoing host George Stroumboulopoulos will not be returning to the broadcast and will leave Rogers “to explore new creative opportunities.”

MacLean will host the Saturday night early game and David Amber will host the late game.

The announcement was widely rumoured as the ratings for Hockey Night have recently declined. Rogers acquired the NHL rights away from CBC in 2014, paying $5.2 billion over 12 years.

“[George Stroumboulopoulos] is an extremely versatile and creative broadcaster and we value the contributions he made to Hockey Night in Canada,” said Scott Moore, Rogers’ president of Sportsnet & NHL Properties. “We look forward to seeing what his next great project will be.”

UPDATE: Six more on-air personalities have also been dismissed from Hockey Night in Canada, including Glenn Healy, P.J. Stock, Billy Jaffe, Chantal Desjardins, Corey Hirsch and Leah Hextall. Damien Cox is also off HNIC, but moves from TV to radio as the co-host of Sportsnet 590 The Fan’s Prime Time Sports.

Original cast member Don Ferguson looks back on the troupe's 44-year history: 'We didn't have a mission or a plan or a theory. We wanted to make ourselves laugh and find a way to share what we found funny with other people.'